Building Wisconsin's Future Caregiving Workforce
As Wisconsin’s population gets older, the need for strong, dependable caregivers is growing fast. Assisted living providers— like Community Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs), Residential Care Apartment Complexes (RCACs), and Adult Family Homes (AFHs)—are facing a big challenge. They must find, train, and keep caregivers who are ready to provide high-quality care to older adults and others in need.
WisCaregiver Careers (wiscaregivercareers.com) is here to help. This statewide program offers smart, effective ways to build and strengthen the caregiving workforce across Wisconsin.
What is WisCaregiver Careers?
The purpose of WisCaregiver Careers is to recruit, train, and place people in caregiving jobs. It helps job seekers find meaningful careers and helps employers hire people who are ready to make a difference. Participants can choose between two career paths:
- Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) – learn more at wiscaregivercna.com
- Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP) – learn more at wiscaregivercdcp.com
WisCaregiver Careers is a free program offered by Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The CNA program was launch in 2018, and the CDCP program followed in 2023.
Why This Program Matters
WisCaregiver Careers is more than just jobs— it’s about finding purpose. The program helps people start rewarding careers in health care, even if they’ve never worked in the field before. At first, WisCaregiver Careers only supported CNA training in nursing homes. Now, it includes training for CDCPs in assisted living and home care settings too.
WALA members, such as RCACs, CBRFs, AFHs, home health agencies, and their business partners, can benefit from this expansion. Employers can hire people who are already trained, passionate about caregiving, and ready to work. Training is free to participants.
Quick Facts
- Free CNA and CDCP training
- Job listings and onboarding tools for employers
- Financial bonuses to help with employee retention
- Support for all types of assisted living providers: RCACs, CBRFs, AFHs, home health providers, and more
CDCP statistics (as of June 2025):
- 15,000+ people enrolled
- 1,150+ certified CDCPs
- 700+ are now working in caregiving
- 1,300+ employers have signed up
CNA statistics (as of June 2025):
- 15,000+ CNA student signups
- 1,050+ trained CNAs
- 200+ CNA employers participating
Three Key Components
Recruitment: The program uses digital ads, community events, and partnerships with schools and job centers to help reach people who are interested in caregiving. Many are job seekers or entry-level workers looking for new career opportunities.
Free Training & Support: Once enrolled, participants receive free access to approved online training programs. This allows them to learn the skills they need at no cost.
Job Placement & Retention: After training, participants are connected with employers across Wisconsin. Employers can use a free online job portal to find and match with candidates. The program also offers marketing support and provides financial bonuses to workers who stay employed for at least six months.
How the CDCP Program Works
DHS worked with educators at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on the curriculum. The content is based on research, feedback from workers, and national best practices. Participants will learn more than a dozen essential skills, including:
- Care settings
- Communication
- Professionalism, responsibility, and ethics
- Person-directed practice
- Evaluation and observation
- Crisis prevention and intervention
- Safety
- Integrity and respect
- Empowerment, advocacy, and self-determination
- Health and wellness
- Community living skills and supports
- Community inclusion, networking, and relationships
- Cultural competency, respect, justice, fairness, and equity education, training, and self-development
Here’s what the process looks like:
- After registering, participants complete about 30 hours of online training at their own pace.
- After they finish the training and pass the test, participants are added to the official CDCP registry to connect with employers.
- New CDCPs receive a $250 bonus when they start working for an approved employer.
- After six months on the job, they get an additional $250 retention bonus.
▶ Check out the CDCP Fact Sheet (dhs.wi.gov/library/collection/p-03346) for a quick overview of the program.
Helping Assisted Living Providers
Every assisted living setting is different. Some, like small adult family homes, have fewer resources than large facilities. Others, especially in rural areas, can’t always compete with wages in cities. WisCaregiver Careers meets these different needs. The program has partnered with WALA and other organizations to add features that work well in assisted living settings. Any agency can become a CDCP employer at no cost.
Not sure where to start? Visit the agencies and providers page (wiscaregivercdcp.com/agency01) to learn more and apply to become a CDCP employer. Once you are confirmed as an eligible provider, you’ll have access to the WisCaregiver Connections workforce platform. There, you can:
- Post job openings
- Automatically match with job seekers
- Screen candidate profiles and credentialing details
You’ll also be listed on an interactive map (wiscaregivercdcp.com/find-employers), so CDCPs can find your job openings.
With WisCaregiver Careers, providers spend less time struggling with staffing problems and more time doing what they do best: providing excellent care.
A Call to Action
Wisconsin’s assisted living community is strong, caring, and focused on making a difference. But we can’t meet the growing demand for care using old workforce strategies. This is why we’re inviting all WALA members to learn how WisCaregiver Careers (wiscaregivercareers.com) can help.
We’re excited to be part of the upcoming WALA Workforce Symposium (ewala.org/wala-workforce-symposium). This is a major event for the assisted living field in Wisconsin. At the symposium, we’ll share tools, resources, and success stories that show how WisCaregiver Careers is making an impact.
Stop by our booth to learn more. Together, we can build a workforce that’s trained, motivated, and proud to care for others.
▶ Want to Learn More? Visit wiscaregivercareers.com.